2023-10-27 02:26:13
Anti-riot agents dispersed with tear gas a crowd of Panamanians who protested this Thursday (10/26/2023) near the Presidency, in the capital, once morest the government for having signed a contract with Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals.
A crowd made up of students, doctors, religious, workers, teachers, indigenous groups, as well as civil society, banged pots and waved Panamanian flags, protesting for the fourth consecutive day once morest the law contract signed last Friday by the president of Panama , Laurentino Cortizoso that Minera Panama exploit the largest copper mine in Central America for 20 renewable years.
“This country is not for sale” or “Minera we do not love you” were part of the chants of the hundreds of young people who advanced today along the seafront of the Panamanian capital to the old town, where some of the government buildings are located, such as the presidential palace.
Neither gases nor rain stop protesters
The march concluded with the firing of tear gas by the riot police, sheltered behind large fences that protected the government buildings.
The clashes occurred in Plaza de la Catedral, in the old town of Panama City, when thousands of protesters tried to remove the security fences that protect the perimeter of the government headquarters.
The demonstration walked, at times in the rain, along the strategic Balboa Avenue until it reached the heart of the Old Town, but following the release of gases, it turned back, grouped together once more and headed towards the areas of the financial center and exclusive residential sectors. from the east of the city.
Cargo transportation is paralyzed
Meanwhile, the freight transport unions decided this Thursday to “completely paralyze” their services for security reasons due to the blockades on the country’s main highway and other roads, within the framework of the protests.
“It is important to make known that if this conflict is not resolved within two days, the country will suffer the onslaught of total shortages” of goods such as “food, medicine, medical supplies, gas, fuel and more,” said a letter. subscribed by eight freight transport unions. Meanwhile, the president of the National Chamber of Cargo Transportation, Roberto Araúz, estimated that there are “some 900 trucks now stopped on the Pan-American highway,” which crosses the entire country and connects it with Central America.
The protests demand the repeal of a law that sealed the agreement signed this year between the mining company and the government, negotiated following the Supreme Court of Justice declared unconstitutional in 2017 the original exploitation contract for the largest copper mine in Central America.
Protesters consider that the new contract is also “unconstitutional” and that mining activity represents a threat to the environment. The government defends it by arguing that it contemplates minimum annual contributions from the mining company to the State of 375 million dollars, ten times the amount of the initial agreement.
jc (afp, efe)
1698383799
#Massive #protests #continue #Panama
